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Nucleic Acids Research, 1977, Vol. 4, No. 10 3665-3676
© 1977

Articles

A compact form of methylated DNA in solutions containing poly (ethylene glycol)

N. M. Akimenko+, G. Burckhardta), V. A. Kadykov, K. A. Avakianb), Yu. M. Evdokimov and Ya. M. Varshavsky

Institute of Molecular Biology, Academy of Sciences of the USSR Vavilov str. 32, Moscow V-312, USSR

+To whom to address correspondence

Received October 14, 1977.

Some peculiarities of compactization of double-stranded DNA molecules containing methylated nitrogen bases have been studied in water-salt solutions of PEG. It is shown that the methylation of N7 - atoms of guanyl re-sidues in original DNA molecules does not prevent the formation of DNA compact particles, but results in a decrease of the amplitude of the negative band in the CD spectrum of compact particles. The influence of N7-guanine methylation on the shape of the CD spectrum being the greater, the lower is the concentration of PEG. The dependence of the negative band amplitude in the CD spectrum on the content of methylated guanyl residues is practically the same for low-molecular weight DNA's from different sources. The observed decrease in the negative band amplitude is interpreted as a result of alteration of guanyl residue orientation relative to the helix axis which leads to diminished optical activity of the "microcrystalline" domains of compact particles. The evidence obtained suggests that changes in the secondary structure of DNA lead to considerable differences between CD spectra of compact particles of methylated DNA and {psi} - form of DNA. (The changes in the CD spectrum of the DNA compact particles occur also as a result of methylation of C5- atoms of cytosine residues). It is suggested that the negative band in the CD spectrum can be used as a criterion for detection of negligible alterations in the DNA secondary structure.

a)Central Institute of Microbiology and Experimental Therapy. Academ6y of Sciences of the GDR Jena.

b)Institute of Chemical Physics, Academy of Sciences of the USSR Moscow


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